Anniversary of the Moon Landing

“One small step for Man.  One giant leap for Mankind”

~ Neil Armstrong

The 50th anniversary of the manned Moon landing coincides with the Lunar Eclipse on Tuesday 16th July.  I heard this week that someone dubbed the Moon landing as the most significant event of the 20th Century. Maddeningly, I can’t remember who it was or who they were quoting! And Google is not helping, and Alexa doesn’t live here.  I have a vague recollection it might have been Gyles Brandreth on Gogglebox (which was hilarious) quoting someone while watching the Moon landing with Sheila Hancock.  If anyone can confirm that, I would be grateful.

Anyway, if it were the most significant event, the chart of the event would be very defining, I would have thought.  The launch took place from Merritt Island in Florida on 16th July 1969 at 13.32 UTC.  The landing itself took place on 20th July 1969 at 20.17 UTC, its location being Tranquillity Base, the Sea of Tranquillity, The Moon.

The striking  thing in the charts of that period was an exact conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus at 0 degrees Libra.  That conjunction itself is eloquent, speaking of aspiration and enterprise. That is took place at 0 degrees of a sign emphasizes its importance as a notable beginning.  The Sun at the launch was conjunct the Midheaven (highest aspiration) trine the North Node (karma) in Pisces.

At the landing itself Mercury was exactly trine Neptune (great inspiration and a demonstration of science at its best).  Pluto had moved to being exactly conjunct the South Node (again, emphasizing world karma).

I have written about all the astronauts involved.  First about Neil Armstrong in 2012, at his passing:

Neil Armstrong

“I admit to feeling a sense of loss when I heard of the passing of Neil Armstrong.  I think the Universe registered this seismically, the passing of a man of the Universe.  A man more of the Universe than most of us, at least to the Moon and back.  In his chart, his own Moon holds the distinction of being at the power point of the Galactic Centre.

His achievements were great, but so also was his character.  He eschewed the status of fame, and remained true to the humility of Neptune at the base of his chart.  Armstrong’s Neptune is exactly square to his Ascendant, on the cusp of his 4th House of Home.  This accounted for the fluidity of his roots: his family moved several times in his early years.  This may have been part of the making of a man who could let go and travel out into space.  Maybe it was part of the training which his life provided.  Although Neptune is more usually associated with the ocean, it is also connected with the ethers.  He had a highly sensitive finely tuned nervous system, with Neptune conjunct exactly his Mercury and the conjunction square to his Ascendant.

The high vitality of his chart is shown by Mars in his 1st House trine exactly the Part of Fortune in his 5th House, then backed up by the Sun in between sextiling both, and Uranus sextile his Mars and trine his Sun in Leo, also providing the scientific abilities needed by an Astronaut.

His career path is represented by his Midheaven, which is placed in the air sign of Aquarius, and from the age of 6 he was interested in flight.  Aquarius is also the sign of technology, and futuristic endeavours.”

Buzz Aldrin

I wrote about Buzz Aldrin in 2015:

The second member of the manned mission team, Buzz Aldrin, had the Sun at 0 degrees Aquarius, a crucial degree for space flight (close to Tim Peake’s North Node).  He had the North Node closely conjunct Chiron in the 11th House of teamwork.  His Gemini Ascendant was exactly opposite the Galactic Centre, and therefore Armstrong’s Moon was opposite his Ascendant (a Moon-centred relationship!).

His Neptune on the I.C point opposite his Midheaven resonates with Neil Armstrong’s Neptune position on the cusp of the 4th House at the bottom of his chart (see above).  His Mars is exactly sextile his natal Part of Fortune in the 9th House of Space Exploration.  Neil Armstrong’s North Node was exactly sextile Buzz Aldrin’s Ascendant, on the cusp of Buzz Aldrin’s 11th House of teamwork.”

The Jupiter-Uranus exact conjunction at the time of the Moon landing was exactly trine Buzz Aldrin’s natal Sun. A gigantic leap for him.

Michael Collins

I wrote in 2015:

“Unlike the other two members of the Moon landing team, we do not have a birth time for Michael Collins.  His role was to orbit the Moon in the Command Module while the other two actually landed on the Moon.  Fascinatingly, he reported his feelings at the time as not those of loneliness, but “awareness, anticipation, satisfaction, confidence, almost exultation”.

Collins is a Scorpio by Sun sign, with Jupiter exactly conjunct Pluto (his ruling planet) in Moon-ruled Cancer.  This is a conjunction of great power and positivity.  He was probably really feeling that conjunction in his description of his solo flight.

He had a karmic bond with Buzz Aldrin, in his Sun being exactly conjunct Aldrin’s South Node.  At the time of the Moon landing Chiron was square his natal Saturn, Saturn was exactly trine his natal Saturn and opposite his natal Sun.  There was a great emphasis therefore on control and solitariness in the role the Universe was asking of him at that time.

In those days, it seemed the adventure of conquering Space was all in front of us, but with accidents occurring to Astronauts later, and financial constraints, question marks began to appear over the whole concept of colonizing Space.  These days we have probes investigating various planets, and programmes working towards manned travel and colonization of Mars.”

There is still a huge debate about how much we should put into space travel, in terms of resources such as time, money and effort.  But the dream still lives on, in many parts of the world, and it is fascinating to think where we are now in relation to where we were then.

Aspects

Pluto opposes the Sun today, so it is a day for sober reflection and unearthing the deep psychological significance behind events (such as the anniversary of the Moon landing, or the unexpected victory of Simona Halep at Wimbledon yesterday in the women’s final against Serena Williams).  Of course, there is a lot going on in our lives, both personally and globally, and our minds may go to issues which affect us more immediately.  Being an opposition, there is a requirement to balance two opposing forces, and possibly blend them or transcend the polarity.  Both planets represent power of sorts, but Pluto is more influential, so there may be an apparent imbalance and seeming impossibility of reconciling the opposition.  There is certainly an imbalance in the Tory leadership contest, with Boris (our Trump) apparently unaffected by the controversy of the expulsion of our ambassador in the U.S.  You can’t take this aspect lightly, but you must believe there is a way through in order to overcome what you need to overcome in what you are working on.  It is the energy of “it’s always darkest before the dawn” – you have to know the dawn is coming.

Even if you are making headway, you will still be feeling tension, and that is from the upcoming Eclipse and Full Moon in Capricorn on Tuesday (16th).  This Moon represents the pull between authority and individual needs.  There are questions about society, such as how far can authority be accountable for an individual’s fate, and how much can the individual expect from authorities, where does the balance of responsibility lie?  An amazing story this week emerged that the government want to give us advice about our sleep patterns.  Considering that austerity has resulted in worry and anxiety being piled on many ordinary families, which keep them awake at night, I really wonder who came up with this!  There has not been any compassion or psychological insight into policy making for many years. In the end, people have to rely and fall back on their own self-reliance and self-awareness, but if the government hands them anything it is an unexpected bonus (until the event that we have a fairer society and government).

Did I mention this is a difficult week?  Saturn opposes Venus on Wednesday (17th), which could be emotionally deflating (e.g. a prominent, well-loved public figure could pass after a long and worthwhile life). It is time to value those around you, and to renew bonds of love and loyalty.

But don’t give up on the week, it gets better from Thursday (18th), when Venus trines Neptune.  If you are sad about a relationship or a passing, you will be able to tap into the spiritual love and purpose behind that person’s life, and your relationship with them.  If you managed to rise above the difficult emotions of Wednesday, you can go higher with inspiration in your creativity, e.g. in Art or Music.  It is a good day to understand the relationship between materiality and spirituality, say. in your quest for abundance.

Finally, on Friday (19th), Mercury retrogrades back into Cancer, from Leo.  You may have had some initial holiday revelries, but then need to go back and attend to family matters in more detail, such as documentation related to that area of your life.  The collective mind will be more able to encompass emotion when considering an argument.  For example, if you have set your mind on a belief because it seems logical, you may be presented with a situation which helps you see the need for compassion for the other side of the argument.  The rights and welfare of children, for instance, may be put under the microscope.  Mercury does not leave the sign of Cancer until 11th August, because it needs to complete its retrograde path, turn round and then make up the ground before it enters Leo again.  So for the rest of this month, and a little beyond, charity begins at home.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – Light and shade
  • Tuesday – Turning point
  • Wednesday – emotionally flat
  • Thursday – Rise up
  • Friday – change of mental focus